The mystery behind the mix has been revealed.
Everyone has always wondered what kind of mix Risa is. Myself included. Knowing or not knowing would never change my opinion of her, naturally. But part of me always wanted to know what she was. She doesn’t LOOK like any particular breed or mix so I always assumed she was a combination of quite a few breeds. Sort of what dogs would look like if they were allowed to breed indiscriminately without human intervention.
I know when the DNA tests first came out, they were pretty hit-or-miss. I also know that, even with known mixes, the pups can look absolutely nothing like their parents. Several of my friends had run the newer DNA tests on their dogs and the results seemed feasible. My curiosity eventually won out over my skepticism and I bought one of the tests. Waiting 3 weeks for the results to come in was agonizing which was silly since I’d already been waiting 10.5 years to know. 🙂
For all the unknowns, I knew she was a herding mix of some sort. Her behaviors have always indicated that (even if she doesn’t actually herd). Which ones, however, was the mystery. I’d always suspected border collie and guessed that Australian cattle dog would be likely too considering how commonplace they are in Montana (where I adopted Risa). While she is built very much like a sighthound, I truly would have been surprised to find any in there. My guess was border collie/German shorthaired pointer/Boxer, Australian cattle dog. I wasn’t even close. 🙂
Risa’s pedigree!
As I suspected, she’s pretty mixed up. I was surprised to see German shepherd in there especially at such a high percentage! Twenty-five percent GSD! That certainly explains a lot (her GI problems, bad back, temperament issues). I would never have guessed Rottweiler or husky. Collie actually didn’t throw me, though, as she was listed as a collie mix at the shelter. I had just always assumed border collie versus rough collie. Makes me think that her mother was probably a collie cross (since that’s probably the “known part” from her original family when she was purchased in a Walmart parking lot). Husky, while unexpected, would certainly explain some of her aloofness and her joy of running for the sake of running. Both the German shepherd and husky could account for the copious amounts of hair she sheds!! 🙂 Some of the other breeds mixed in there are apparently cocker spaniel, poodle, golden retriever, Weimaraner, Chihuahua, soft-coated wheaten terrier, standard schnauzer, Russell terrier, and miniature pinscher.
Yup. Pretty mixed up Muttski. But it’s sort of cool to “know.”
